A rolling reserve is a risk management measure where Mollie holds a percentage of each transaction in your pending balance for a set period of time. It exists to cover potential chargebacks and refunds, and is applied by Mollie's risk team based on your account's risk profile.
If a rolling reserve applies to your account, you'll be notified by email and in your Mollie Dashboard.
What you need to know in advance
- A rolling reserve is applied by Mollie — it is not something you configure yourself. It is separate from the balance reserve, which is a voluntary setting you control in your Dashboard.
- The rolling reserve does not affect which payments your customers can make. It only affects when part of those funds become available to you.
How a rolling reserve works
When a rolling reserve is active, a fixed percentage of each incoming transaction is held in your pending balance for a set period — for example, 20% for 90 days. After the holding period ends, the reserved amount is released to your available balance on a rolling daily basis.
For example: if your rolling reserve is 20% for 90 days and you receive a €100 payment today, €20 will be held in your pending balance and released on day 90. The remaining €80 settles to your available balance according to the standard settlement delay for that payment method.
This means your actual payout amount will be lower than your total revenue until the reserve starts releasing. Once the reserve has been running for the full holding period, daily releases begin and the impact on your cash flow stabilises.
Where to find your rolling reserve details
In your Mollie Dashboard, go to Reports > Balance. Under Pending balance, you'll see the total amount currently held. Your balance report shows a breakdown of what is pending and when amounts are expected to release.
If you want to know the specific percentage and holding period that applies to your account, contact our support team.
Why is a rolling reserve applied?
Mollie applies a rolling reserve when the risk profile of an account requires additional financial protection. Common reasons include:
- Operating in a higher-risk industry
- A higher-than-average chargeback rate
- A new account with limited transaction history
- Specific payment methods with elevated chargeback risk, such as credit cards or Klarna
The specific criteria used to assess risk are not shared, as disclosing them could undermine fraud prevention.
How a rolling reserve affects your payouts
While a rolling reserve is active:
- Your available balance will be lower than your total revenue, because the reserved portion stays in pending until the holding period ends.
- Your estimated next payout in the Dashboard reflects only your available balance — it does not include pending amounts.
- If your available balance is insufficient to cover a refund, you may need to top up your balance to process it.
- Once the holding period has passed for each transaction, the reserved amount is released daily to your available balance and included in your next payout.
Requesting a review of your rolling reserve
Rolling reserves are reviewed periodically. If you believe your risk profile has improved — for example, because your chargeback rate has decreased significantly — you can request a review by contacting our support team.
To support a review, it helps to be able to show:
- A sustained reduction in chargebacks over recent months
- A stable transaction history
- Any relevant changes to your business model or fulfilment process
We cannot guarantee that a review will result in a change, and we are unable to share the specific criteria used in the assessment.
Rolling reserve vs. balance reserve
These are two separate things:
- A rolling reserve is applied by Mollie's risk team. You cannot configure or remove it yourself.
- A balance reserve is a voluntary amount you set yourself in your Dashboard to keep funds available for refunds. You can change or remove it at any time via Settings > Balance.
Read more
- Why is some of my balance pending?
- How long does it take for a payment to be available for payout?
- How do I top up my balance for a refund?
- Can I leave funds on my Mollie balance?